The Knight Of Nix
by The Endless Hourglass
Summary: The Nix family is one of six who are forced by the clans to fight in a deadly arena. Twelve are chosen to train for six moons, and eleven are to die. Dark, a cold solitary tom, thinks he and the she-cat tribute are nothing but the equivilent of a game piece. When StarClan marks Dark with a fatal incident, however, he changes, and his fate gives him the name, The Knight of Nix.
1. Chosen

_The Knight Of Nix_

Everything is dark. The trees that shade the territory no longer has a stand for keeping us cool. They now just keep us scared, leaving no hope, and a lot of fear. There is no escape, no way out, and no way to call out for help. We're all forced to do this. We're all forced to listen.

Twelve of us every other season. Green-leaf, and leaf-bare are two seasons you don't want to be born in. They are the seasons everyone dreads, and on the first full moon of both seasons, twelve are chosen at birth to train for the upcoming horror, and the twelve chosen last time would fight to the death in a territory that is used only for this.

There are only four clans, and though they have lasted many moons, they are not what they were meant to be. In history, the elders tell us of the ancestor clans—LionClan, TigerClan, and LeopardClan. In history, the elders tell us of the four great leaders—Thunderstar, Riverstar, Windstar, and Shadowstar. In history, the elders tell us of the Four—Firestar, Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovewing. In history, the elders tell us of the downfall, for when the last three died, there were no protectors, and so the clans fell into chaos.

I don't know much, because I was refused the history of how it all happened, but I know that those with certain blood are chosen. My ancestor was a tom named Nix, meaning snow, I've learned, in an ancient language. He was one of the loners who rebelled against the clans, and now his whole family has to pay for it. _I _have to pay for it.

There are six families, decedents from the six cats who did something cats don't usually speak of. Nix, the smartest, Lucus, the brightest, Stark, the most powerful, Sophia, the wisest, Eve, the fastest, and Kalt, the darkest. The six loners were kept prisoners after their defeat, and their descendants were forced to live away from the clans, guarded by those who are strong enough to make sure no one escaped.

My name—currently Willow Nix—is a reminder to whom I am a decedent from. My brothers, Fire Nix and Sky Nix, are also named after this, as well as my mother—Flower Nix—and my father—Shade Nix. However, my friend, Reed Stark, is named after his descendant, and his family so forth. We've grown into a clan in of itself, large enough to rebel. But we are weak, and every other season, twelve are taken from us.

However, with all the queens we have, we never run out. In the next two moons, we create more kits, and seeing as it's the only thing we seem to be able to do, we do it. Having a family is what every kit dreams of, aside from winning the battle between the other eleven that were chosen.

It's not just a battle, though. We're being forced to fight our own family. Me? I'm going to have to murder my own cousin. Reed Stark is going to have to kill his own sister, and everyone else I know will have to do the same. Our 'clan' is all we have of each other, yet every other season, they force us to fight against each other, breaking us apart.

I am currently eight moons old, which is only two moons older than the minimum age of being shoved into the arena. Yes, some are chosen only days old, and they don't get nearly enough training as the others, because their eyes aren't even open. However, it doesn't matter. The clan cats don't care. I was lucky, because though I started training when I was only two moons old, at least I know what it feels like to be a kit. At least I had at least six moons of training. And even though I was only two moons old, I still remember the day I was chosen. . .

It had been a full moon night, as usual. Our whole group had moved to the gathering island, where the clans surrounded us still, guarding us so that we couldn't escape. Twelve young cats stood near the Great Oak Tree, getting ready to fight for the death. They had been chosen in leaf-bare, and were going to fight this green-leaf. Each held either scared or emotionless faces.

The six families separated, giving the leaders a good idea of how large we'd grown so they could calculate how they wanted the battle to go. I was with my mother, quite scared, with my brothers standing on either side of me, and though they hid their fear, I could still scent it on them. They were just afraid of the Battle as I was, which surprised me.

A golden tabby stood up, looking stronger than any of the other clan leaders. He had icy blue eyes, and was grinning down to us in a sadistic way, having an idea of what our fate was going to be. The other leaders, a black and white tom, a light gray she-cat, and a brown tabby tom, also looked proud, as if reliving the history that brought us here.

"ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan! We gather here today for the Battle Ceremony! Twelve contestants will be chosen to fight next leaf-bare, while the young cats below me will fight to the death in just three sunrises! After six moons, the time has finally come!" The cheering below made my stomach flop. How could the clans be so happy? We're fighting to the death! Didn't they care about us?

"For the young ones here, we shall start by introductions," said the golden tabby tom. "Fogstar, the leader of ShadowClan!" As the golden tabby tom flicked his tail toward the black and white tom, who sat proudly on the branch of the tree. "Adderstar, the leader of WindClan!" The golden tabby flicked his tail toward the light gray she-cat who smiled to reveal her long and scary fangs. "Mudstar, leader of ThunderClan!" The golden tabby then flicked his tail toward the brown tabby tom, who glared at the descendants of the loners. "And I, Eveningstar, leader of RiverClan!" The clans cheered once again, warriors and apprentices eager for the names to be called.

"Now, we shall continue by calling the names of the tributes who shall be trained until leaf-bare to fight as a representation for their family," Eveningstar continued. "When your name is called, you must step forward, and turn around to face the families before you. Your mentor and escort will then step forward, and sit next you after both you and the other tribute for your family has been chosen." It was quiet as the golden leader finished, for now everyone was awaiting their name to be chosen.

"Kalt shall be our starting point, said Eveningstar. "For those who don't know, Kalt was the darkest, and the most evil. He didn't hesitate to kill, and if his descendants are anything like him, they have a fair chance of winning this Battle." It was still quiet as the Kalt family awaited their destiny. "For the Kalt family she-cat tribute, I give you. . .Ivy Kalt!" The clans erupted into cheering as a kit a bit older than me shakily walked forward with her tail tucked between her legs.

"For the Kalt family tom tribute, I give you. . .Bramble Kalt!" As Eveningstar called out this name, whispers among the Kalt family were all directed at a brown tabby tom, who was quite older than me, and had his head held high in the sky. He was obviously six moons old, meaning that he would have the most training. It was the maximum age to be chosen at, so by the time it was leaf-bare, he'd be twelve moons old.

As he joined the other Kalt, their mentor—a black tom—and their escort—a white she-cat—immediately walked out from the crowd to join the Kalt group. The black tom—who's name I remembered as Nightfrost—looked ready to teach the kits all they knew as the white she-cat looked very excited about the upcoming names. No one, however, seemed sorry for Ivy, who looked very, very scared.

One after one, the names were chosen. . .Feather Eve, Snake Eve. . .Blue Sophia, Lion Sophia. . .Rain Stark, and Reed Stark. These names made me nearly cry out in agony, for they were sister and brother, not to mention my best friends. Now, more likely than not, they would both die. The names went on—Light Lucus, Golden Lucus. . .and now it was the she-cat's turn for Nix.

I remembered being so scared, and so terrified. Not just for myself, but for the rest of my family. Fawn Nix who was my cousin, along with her brother. The twins, who were my my cousins, Stone and Rock Nix. My nieces and nephews, coming from my older sister's litter, and so much more. We were all a family, and yet two of us had to die.

"And our she-cat tribute from the Nix family, is. . .Willow Nix!" Eveningstar announced, leaving me to freeze in my spot. My eyes were wide with fear, and I was shaking horribly. I didn't know what to do, and as the clans cheered and my family became sorrowfully quiet, I could feel my heart crashing against my rib cage. The same things kept going through my head, _I'm going to die. I'm going to die. _

"Go on, Willow," said my mother soothingly, though I could sense the fear on her pelt. "It'll be alright." Though she nudged me forward, I didn't budge. I couldn't. I wouldn't. I didn't want to walk over to my death. I didn't want to meet those I would soon have to kill. It was just too scary.

"Willow, just think of it this way," said my brother, who was always the one who thought of the bright side. Though even then, I could feel that he was sad, and he didn't want me to leave. "Go kick their tails out of the world and you can come back safely with us. Don't worry about the training until leaf-bare part—you'll just kill off a few weaklings and come straight home so we can finish our game of 'Find The Seeker', okay?" I looked into Fire's amber eyes, which were burning back at me, seeming determined to have me home by next leaf-bare. I nodded, now accepting his words as something to go off of, before I stood up straight, and tried my best to look calm as I walked over to the Great Oak.

As I faced my family beside the other tributes, I tried to look my strongest. I tried to tell them, I _will _return home, and that everything was going to be okay. Even as I saw my mother cry and my little niece wail out to me, I stayed strong, reminding myself it would be for them.

"And for the Nix tom tribute, I give you. . .Dark Nix!"

I frowned, scowling as I picked up the sight of my distant cousin in my family's crowd. He was a long haired dark—almost black—tom with icy amber eyes that were very scary. Emotionless, cold, and dark, giving him his name, and his reputation. He was known for his bitter and solitary personality. I didn't know him much because usually he was in the shadows, watching the other kits play. He was exactly two moons old than me, and much taller and stronger. He, with his intelligence and strength, was in the running to be the Winner of the Battle.

When Dark walked over, he seemed completely expressionless, with his eyes looking at me, as if to say, 'you're dead, and there's nothing you can do about it.'I shivered in my place as he sat by me, because even the temperature coming off his pelt was cold, and it chilled my spine.

That was when Eagleshade, our escort, walked over and sat beside Dark, who seemed very uncomfortable, but at the same time, angry. The brown and white tabby tom—Eagleshade—ignored this, mistakenly thinking that he was better than the four moon old kit.

"Will you please move, Eagleshade?" asked Dark without looking away from his family. He spoke with an icy voice, that was a warning to any Nix cat that they better go away. It was spoken calmly, but the meaning behind it was very clear. Well, to any _smart _cat, anyway.

"Who are you, a Clan leader?" asked Eagleshade bitterly, unsheathing his claws into the ground, determined to stay there. "You're just a tribute, and in this case, I do not have to listen to you." Dark at first just sat there, as if deciding to ignore the issue until later. But I knew him better than that. He wouldn't ignore anything that he wanted, especially when a cat was challenging him.

"Move, Eagleshade." said Dark, his voice becoming cooler as his blue eyes moved not from where they were standing. The cats on the island were listening to this conversation, curiously wondering what the cold tom would do if the escort didn't move.

"Ha!" Eagleshade laughed, a grin on his face. "As if I'd ever listen to a sorry little peasant like you!" Dark remained calm, looking as if he'd finally ignored it to everyone else. To me and the rest of the family, however, we could see his muscles tightening, and his teeth clenching. We could see the cold fury in his icy blue eyes, and we knew the thoughts going through his head.

"That wasn't a question." was the only warning Dark gave before standing and quickly turning on his heal before unsheathing his claws and slashing them at Eagleshade's face. Blood dripped onto the ground as the large gash that went across the escort's muzzle started bleeding heavily.

The brown tabby and white tom opened his eyes with pure fury burning within them. Dark just stared at him, his icy blue eyes seeming to dig into the escort's soul as he watched Eagleshade furiously attempt to say something, fuming with anger as he did. I was scared, for no one had ever been this angry around me. "Why you little—"

"Easy, Eagleshade," came Eveningstar's voice from atop the Great Oak tree. "He just wants you to move. Is that so hard?" The escort looked up to the RiverClan leader, glaring at him. However, as he read Eveningstar's expression, he calmed himself down like a real warrior, and then stared at Dark with a scowl on his face.

The escort muttered something underneath his breath as he walked over by me and sat down, far away from Dark who gave no expression of pride. He was just emotionless, staring at his family with no trace of pride or honor whatsoever as the clans continued to stay quiet.

Normally, a tribute would have been seriously injured after pulling a stunt like that, but since Dark was a cold tribute who probably had all the clan she-cats mooning over him at the moment, and he had shown everyone what a _real _tribute was supposed to act like, the clans left him alone. Not that this would go unnoticed, however. The other tributes would definitely have an eye on him now.

It was then that I noticed our mentor, Dawnstreak, beside me, glancing over at dark with uncertainty in her eyes, as if she was scared of him. If that was the case, than I could basically count myself dead, for we were not going to win with a scaredy-cat for a mentor.

"We now have our tributes! They will train at the Tribute Base until the first full moon of leaf-bare, where they will put their training to the test! As a reminder, for those of you who don't know, the winner of the battle will have the chance to leave in the clans! They will no longer bear the name of a rebel's name, but instead carry a warrior's name!"

My eyes widened with shock as I heard this. My mother nor father mentioned anything of this, and as I realized what this meant, I looked over to my brother, who gave the look of pity to me. It wasn't bitter, but it was as if he was saying sorry. But he knew. He knew all this time. He just wanted me to go, to give me strength for those few heart-beats.

I remember that day every single time I step out into the training grounds and spar with Dark. I remember that day every single time I'm referred to as 'the Nix she-cat'. I remember that day every single time Dark defies the clans. I remember that day every single time I'm reminded of the Battle. I remember that day all the time, because now there is nothing left to fight for. I don't have anything, and if I live, I still will have nothing.

_I am just a piece in the game now._

* * *

**A/n: I do not own warriors**

_Alrighty folks. This was done for two reasons: I had the plot idea, and there was a Challenge on the Warriors Challenge Forum that literally begged me to do it. This is loosely baised off of the Hunger Games, but not entirely so. In this case, I didn't want to put it in the Hunger Games Cross Overs because of that. If you feel that it needs to be moved, please tell me why in a review and if it's a good reason, I will do so. Anyway, this will basically follow Dark on his quest to live. Willow as well, but mostly Dark._

_Until next time,_

_-+- The Endless Hourglass, may time be with you._


	2. Revealed

Dark stood at the edge of the clearing, staring with his cold blue eyes at the white she-cat before him. Eagleshade was beside her while Dawnstreak was beside him. However, she was a few fox lengths away, aware that Dark hated being told what to do.

Dark stood as he studied his sparing partner's form. Emotionless, just like he'd taught her, with cold eyes that showed anyone around her that she wasn't afraid to kill. Her muscles were tensed, and her expression was unreadable, leaving Dark happy that he didn't have to point that out again.

Willow attacked, her face continuing to stay emotionless as she came toward him. Dark evaded her attack as she lunged toward him, her claws unsheathed. He effortlessly evaded all the slashes she gave with her claws, his agile body ducking and stepping to the side when needed. And he didn't even have to think about it.

Willow jumped onto her hind legs, pushing her upper body off of the ground as she slashed at his skin with unsheathed claws. Dark expressionlessly ducked under each attack before she paused, giving him the perfect opening. He didn't smirk or show his pride though—his blue eyes just stared at her, emotionlessly calculating her movements.

Dark quickly lunged into her belly, head-butting her to the ground. She lost her emotionless mask as the air left her lungs. He pinned her quickly, his strong legs keeping her down as his claws entered her pelt. She screeched in pain, the fear in her eyes unmistakable.

After this, he stood up, stepping off of her with a cold expression still plastered onto his face. Willow stood up with a wince, and she looked both scared and angry at herself at the same time. Dark stared at her as she stood up, ignoring the wounds. Just like he taught her.

"Everything was good up until the point you paused," Dark hissed coldly to her as she looked at him, her blue eyes watching him closely as her ears soaked in everything he said. "It was an easy opening that would have had you killed in the arena territory." Willow sighed, obviously having saw that one coming.

"I know, but I was already tired from the other attacks and—"

"Do you think that just because you're tired the other tributes will leave you alone?" Dark asked, calmly, smoothly, and without emotion. "You must push yourself to your limits, for this isn't clan training. This is Battle training, and there is no weakness here. Understand?" Willow nodded, fully accepting the scolding, and the information she now had to work on.

Dark nodded, feeling that though she didn't reply strongly like he had told her so many times, she at least replied, which was saying something for his distant cousin. He stretched out his strong muscles quite aware that they would soon be used against many battles that would probably end his life.

"Good," Dark told her, his emotionless face never wavering from it's place. "That is all for today. We must rest, for the next full moon is coming near, and most likely, it will be our last." Willow nodded before she stood, her eyes still on the ground as she was once again lost in thoughts and calculations of how to make herself better.

Dawnstreak and Eagleshade quickly stood up before following the two toward the entrance of the clearing where they would emerge and let the next pair of tributes train. However, they were stopped as a brown tabby tom and gray tabby she-cat entered, the tom smirking, the other cowering.

"Oh look, it's wimpy one and wimpy two," said the brown tabby tom, who was known as Bramble Kalt. "What did you do for training today? Practice hiding cowardly behind a bush?" He sniggered, and as always, Nightfrost and Whitesplash followed his lead, taking pleasure in hurting other cats.

"Move," said Dark calmly, but icily. Bramble's insult had absolutely no effect on Dark, which would usually scare the older bullies away after the chaos that happened at their first gathering . The brown tabby laughed, though, taking pride in his insult as well as being once again determined to wipe the emotionless mask off of Dark's face.

"As if!" Bramble Kalt laughed, a smirk on his face. "I don't need to move, for you can't threaten me with anything. Unless you want to end up dead before the Battle has already begun. If that's the case, go ahead. Leaves me one less cat to kill." Dark continued staring at the brown tom, thinking quickly of a threat that didn't include blood.

"Bramble, there are many more ways to threaten you, ones that don't include breaking the Battle code," Dark said calmly, making Bramble's smirk vanish and replace itself with a frown that followed up with a confused, yet shocked expression. "Light is very pretty, you know. I can see why you like her. If you don't get out of way, I _will _kill her before the Battle has begun, and no one will know who did it."

The two stood staring at each other, both completely still as Bramble tried to find out if the threat had something real behind it. The adult cats stayed still, listening to every word, preparing to attack as in their job description if anything went horribly wrong. However, Dark knew that Bramble would see no empty threat. Dark had attacked many of the adult figures since he came to the training territory, and everyone knew he could kill with a blink of an eye and leave no evidence if needed.

"Bramble, maybe we should listen to him, he sounds—"

"Quiet, pipsqueak," Bramble growled, cutting the scared she-cat off. Ivy went lower to the ground, cowering even more behind the large brown tabby tom's shadow. "I _will _move, but not because he sounds serious. I will only do it because we're wasting our training time." With that, Bramble stepped out of the way, entering the training clearing without a second glance back at Dark, who still remained emotionless.

Without saying a word, the dark gray tom continued forward, making his way toward camp as the rest of the cats kept quiet. Eagleshade had had his fair share of scratches and scars from the deadly tom, and had learned quickly to listen to Dark. Dawnstreak, though talented she may be, had more confidence in Dark than in herself to train Willow, so she left it up to him. She was also too scared to get in his way, and preferred to leave him alone. Willow had learned real fast that her only way of survival was to follow his lead, so instead of arguing with him, she accepted training from him.

_And that's just how it's going to go, _Dark thought.

* * *

"So what are we going to do for sponsors?" asked Willow after finishing the mouse in which had been taken to her by a warrior from ThunderClan. It was one of the guards of the Tribute camp, for when they asked for food they were to be given some. Dark only had something small, since that guard had also felt his emotionless wrath.

"Why must we worry about that now?" asked Dark calmly, his icy voice no longer sending chills down the she-cat's spine because of how often she'd heard it. "We still have a few days of training left, and you must focus on perfecting the rearing technique before you can think of the sponsors. Besides, the sponsors aren't that important. They're just back up." Dark took another bite out of his vole, savoring the taste as he reminded himself it would be hard to hunt in the arena territories.

"Dark, the interview is three days from now, and the assessment is a day after that!" Willow exclaimed, no longer worrying about her emotionless mask. It was something she had a habit of doing, though Dark had giving up on reminding her about it. She was just being herself, which she wouldn't get to do in just a couple more sunrises. So he let her, feeling that since she was younger than him, she needed it. "We need to have a strategy."

"I thought you would have figured that out already." Dark muttered, his eyes on the vole he was eating, not on her, because he didn't want his mind to automatically pick up her openings. He could tell Willow was confused, for she was unusually quiet.

"Er, no, I haven't," said Willow, obviously having not understood _everything _Dark had taught her.

"I've taught you not to show a single emotion to your enemies, so why would you stop now?" asked Dark after taking another bite of his vole. "You know very well that if you come off lustful, some toms might seek you out, and while your pretending to act what you're not, they'll kill you. If you come off shy, they'll leave you for last, and when you pretend to be weak, you leave many openings. My point being, as long as you 'pretend' to be something you're not, your openings number more than being emotionless, where they are completely clueless as to what you're feelings are, and when they try to figure it out, their openings begin to number, and you can attack." Willow blinked, obviously expecting something a lot less complicated. She sighed in defeat, but Dark still didn't pride himself.

"What if they ask me about my brother? Everyone saw me talking to him before I was chosen. . ." Willow murmured, evidently fearful that she might have to answer that question. Dark didn't know why, for he had no interest in it, finding that it was better to just leave personal affairs alone.

"Just go to sleep," said Dark calmly. "We need rest if we're going to be presentable at the Chosen Ceremony." Willow did as told, instantly curling up and falling asleep, just as she normally did. It was at that moment that Dark let his emotionless expression vanish, revealing the sorrow inside.

_Ten moons. . .we would have been ten moons old today, little Dove. . .Ten moons. . . _Dark closed his eyes, continuing to hold the tears back in case anyone was watching. Memories reached his eyes as he replayed everything from the beginning, ending only when blood and disgusting features lay in his mind.

That night, he went asleep whispering Dove's name, just as he had been doing since that day eight moons ago.

* * *

Dark walked quietly alongside the rest of the tributes as they made their way toward the gathering island. It wasn't far, for the clans wanted to be 'nice' and have the tribute camp near the gathering. They said it was to be kind, but Dark knew that it was so they could start gathering sooner.

Willow was walking beside him, her face lit with both curiosity and caution, which made Dark sigh with irritation. After a slight argument, she'd gotten her wish, and was now going to look weak and small like an eager kit, ignorant of the real reason they were in the Battle. Though a good strategy, Dark knew it was going to get her killed. And after all that work he put into her. . .

Dark could feel the tension in the air, finding that his intuition was blossoming with all of the emotions running high throughout the tributes this night. There were so many proud looks, so many cowardly expressions, a lot of cautious glances, and just one eager prance that was of course Willow.

Dark had his head perfectly still as he walked, looking straight ahead with his usual emotionless expression. The emotions around him, however, were nearly suffocating his perfect composure. For some reason, he felt sorry for the weak and cowardly, furious at the proud and arrogant, and curious of the cautious and alert. It was just something his mind did, and though most of the time it was a good thing—because he always knew what to say—at this moment, it was bad.

After being focused for so long, he didn't realize they were already at the island. One by one, the tributes crossed. First the she-cat of the tribute family, then the tom, after that the escort, and then the mentor. With Nix being first, he watched as Willow jumped onto the log, following quickly after her.

Surprisingly, the she-cat did not slip, and with his balance, neither did he. Dark was very happy for that, because he had no wish to go ice-walking on the lake's frozen surface. Willow seemed to think the same thing, for as he jumped off of the log, she sighed with relief, as if thinking _he _could have fallen.

Eagleshade and Dawnstreak looked to where they were supposed to go, quite happy, it seemed, to be back with their clan-mates. Dark walked over, noticing his family immediately. His cousins, his aunt and uncle, as well as other distant relatives, stood in the Nix section, staring at him and Willow as they walked in and sat by the Great Oak tree.

As the other tributes filed in, he followed Willow's gaze to the part of the Nix family in which was hers. Fire Nix, Sky Nix, and Willow's mother all sat in the middle, tears streaming down their faces as they saw their sibling and daughter again. Dark closed his eyes and slowly breathed out, reminding himself that he needed to stay calm. Before anyone could notice, he opened his eyes, thinking quietly to himself, _That will not be the only reminder tonight. _

"ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan! We gather here today for the Battle Ceremony! Twelve contestants will be chosen to fight next leaf-bare, while the young cats below me will fight to the death in just three sunrises! After six moons, the time has finally come!" Eveningstar announced, just the same as last time.

The choosing ceremony took no time at all. There were no waits and only one coward—the rest were too young or two proud to realize that they were walking toward their certain death. It was just a normal ceremony it seemed, leaving Dark to become bored quickly.

However, after the twelve young cats left for the tribute camp, it became interesting once again. Dark put his senses on alert before standing up straighter, further perfecting his composed body and emotionless expression as he kept telling himself to stay calm. He knew what was coming, and he knew what he would feel afterword. This just gave him time to prepare.

"Now, let's give a warm welcome to our returning twelve!" Eveningstar called upon the clans, making them cheer with eagerness and excitement. "To further get to know these tributes, we shall continue on with a few notes of their family! The rest of their personal emotions will be left for the interviews, of course, but there are a few things that can leak out for now." The clans were now quiet, looking intently at the twelve cats in front of them.

"For the Kalt family she-cat tribute, Ivy Kalt was chosen," Eveningstar told them. "Mother – Shadow Kalt. Father – Thorn Kalt. Brother – Bramble Kalt. Age at Choosing Ceremony – Six moons old. Age now – Twelve moons old!" The clans cheered as Ivy's head went down, obviously afraid of what was to come.

"For the Kalt family tom tribute, Brmable Kalt was chosen," Eveningstar continued. "Mother – Shadow Kalt. Father – Thorn Kalt. Sister – Ivy Kalt. Age at choosing Ceremony – Six moons old. Age now – Twelve moons old!" The clans cheered once again as Bramble held his head high.

The names went on and on—one by one as Dark picked up on their honest personalities as well as their family. He printed all of this in his mind, soaking in the new information for when he was to fight them. Threats and taunts also popped up in his head just in case they were a bit stronger than him.

Willow was sitting uncomfortably as they finished the Lucus family, because now she would be next. She continued to glance over at her family, as if afraid to push the spotlight onto them. Dark continued to stare at her with an emotionless gaze, but inside, he was praying for her to become composed, because at the moment, he felt like all of his work had been for nothing.

"For the Nix family she-cat tribute, Willow Nix was chosen. Mother – Flower Nix. Father – Shade Nix. Brothers – Sky Nix and Fire Nix. Age at Choosing Ceremony – Two moons old. Age now – Eight Moons old!" The clans cheered as Dark controlled himself, breathing in out slowly while holding his composure. It wasn't long now until everyone would have a good idea of who he was.

"For the Nix family tom tribute, Dark Nix was chosen," said Eveningstar, slowly as he caught everyone's attention. They remembered his outburst against Eagleshade, and they wanted to know more about his mysterious behavior. Now they would know. "Mother – Petal Nix. . .deceased. Father – Stormflame. Sister – Dove Nix. . .deceased. Age at Choosing Ceremony – Four moons old. Age now – Ten moons old!"

The clans didn't cheer this time around. A few did, but most were whispering to each other, talking about his blood, and how he was half clan born as well as born from Stormflame, a cat highly known for what he did to she-cats and for what he did to their children. Dark continued to stare, as if nothing was bothering him, but on the inside, he was dying.

It wasn't unheard of for a tribute or family member to be related to the clans. However, it was rare. Only a few in history have been known to happen, and Dark happened to be one of them. It wasn't illegal either, for the way Stormflame did it never gave them one ounce of hope.

However, for the cats to know that he was half-clan born, Stormflame's son, and that both of his only family members were deceased was heart-breaking, because after so many moons of keeping it completely secret, it had finally been let out into the open.

The whole story wasn't yet let out, but most would probably assume that Stormflame murdered both Dove and Petal after Dark and his sister were born. After all, that's what Stormflame did to most of his victims, because he didn't want kits. He just wanted a mate. For some reason, however, he'd left Dark alone, and that cold sickening voice was once again in his head.

_But that's all they know. And it's all they _will _know. _Dark thought.

* * *

**A/n: I do not own warriors.**

_I, for some reason, despise this chapter. It's short, gives away too much too soon, too soon reveals all of Dark's character, and just didn't come out correctly. But at least it's done, right? XD_


End file.
